Johnny Croley
English 1102
Dr. Harrison
7 April 2015
The Evolution of Grant
As illustrated in A Lesson Before Dying, African Americans in the South went on with their lives normally, indicating that racial relations were not negatively impacted by the oppression and treatment of Black Americans. The narrations in the novel are in the context of Cajun Community as seen through the eyes of the author in the late 1940s. The main characters in the novel are Grant and Jefferson. Author Jefferson is not involved in the shoot-out, he is tried by a court and sentenced. Grant went to study in the university, and he has returned to the community, ready to teach in a local school. He is not decided whether he should live in the small community
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His teacher, Matthew Antoine, was instrumental in imparting his students with the attitude that would impact them both in the long-term and short-term. Grant, being one of his students, is also exemplified by the attitude. From an analytical perspective, the students were quite inexperienced, and they could believe everything that Matthew told them. In fact, his students could not question his assertion that black people are characterized by high levels of lowliness. It is amazing to learn that the teacher did not treat his black students in a fair manner. In fact, he only aimed at making them aware of their inferior social status. As a result of the teachings, Grant 's childhood and adulthood are exemplified by pessimism and hopeless in society. He is not aware that his racial perceptions to bring anticipated changes in his community and beyond by be started by him. Jefferson could be described as the person who has helped Grant to have another perspective in regards to different people in society. He does not give an appealing response to Grant in the cell during his first visit. However, as his visits increase in the future, they both realize that they get along very well. Although he has been selfish, he, for the first time, displays some sympathy for his friend. By asking the wrongly convicted young person many questions and giving him a chance to respond in any manner, the author shows that fundamental changes are occurring in Grant, unlike to the
In A Lesson Before Dying by author Ernest J Gaines, Grant is the protagonist who is trying to do the right thing for his people. Grant is in a very turbulent situation, having to make Jefferson into a “man” by the time he is executed. This is the central plot of the story, but not the main themes and ideas of it. Grant is struggling to help Jefferson because he sees generations of injustice through him. “’We got our first load of wood last week,’ [Grant] told him. ‘Nothing changes,’ he said.” (Gaines, 53). The response Grant’s teacher gives him has a deeper meaning: he as Grants’ teacher failed to change the injustice and racism and Grant is in the same situation. “Nothing changes”, but Grant does not give up for the sake of Jefferson, his people, and most importantly, himself. At one point, Grant actually reveals that “it is too heavy a burden because of all the others who have run away and left their burdens behind. So, he,
Grant and Jefferson are on a journey. Though they have vastly different educational backgrounds, their commonality of being black men who have lost hope brings them together in the search for the meaning of their lives. In the 1940’s small Cajun town of Bayonne, Louisiana, blacks may have legally been emancipated, but they were still enslaved by the antebellum myth of the place of black people in society. Customs established during the years of slavery negated the laws meant to give black people equal rights and the chains of tradition prevailed leaving both Grant and Jefferson trapped in mental slavery in their communities.
A Lesson Before Dying is set in rural Louisiana in the 1940’s. The setting is ripe for the racism displayed in the novel. Ernest J. Gaines weaves an intricate web of human connections, using the character growth of Grant Wiggins and Jefferson to subtly expose the effect people have on one another (Poston A1). Each and every character along the way shows some inkling of being a racist. However, Paul is an exception. He treats everyone as if he or she is equal to him whether the person is black or white. In A Lesson Before Dying, author Ernest J. Gaines displays the different levels of racism during the 1940’s through his use of characterization.
The Jim Crow Era was peak time for segregation causing Jefferson’s journey in the novel, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines to open up the eyes of many, no matter what one’s skin color is, by showing what it means to die as a hero even when seen as the villain. Grant is to make Jefferson a man before he dies by showing him the truths about religion, race, and the United States justice system. Jefferson also teaches Grant a few things about life, creating a unique bond between the two.
In the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, racism and prejudice are clearly evident and talked about throughout the novel. The novel expresses the oppression of the blacks under a white-ruled society through the narrator, Grant. Grant is a well-educated black man who struggles to free himself from the oppression he has felt from the white community. Despite the fact that he is educated and a teacher, he initially lacks the vigor needed to take the first step against black discrimination. He has all this intellect, but does not realize until later on that it is not only intelligence he needs to overcome the oppression, but self-assertion, too. Education does not prove your intellectual worth in society; rather, it is what you do during difficult times that define your intelligence and strong character not just to yourself, but to the world.
Throughout history and in literature, Black has always been portrayed as evil, whereas White has represented purity and light. These oversimplified stereotypes of something so abstract as skin color has plagued our culture with prejudice and hatred. Ernest E. Gaines, author of A Lesson Before Dying, tells the story of a young black boy named Jefferson who is set to die for essentially being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a schoolteacher who is faced with the task of making him a “man”. The novel takes place in Bayonne, Louisiana in the 1940’s, a time when racism prospered. At this time in history people faced extreme prejudice based on the color of their skin. Though slavery had been abolished almost eighty years
In Ernest J. Gaines novel A Lesson Before Dying, a young African-American, Jefferson, is caught in the middle of a liquor shootout, and as the only survivor is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. During Jefferson’s trial, his attorney calls him a hog in an effort to persuade the jury that he could not have possibly planned a crime like this. Having heard this, Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, calls on the local school teacher, Grant Wiggins, to visit Jefferson in prison and help prove to the community, more importantly the white people, that Jefferson is indeed a man, not a hog. Throughout the book, Grant often contemplates why he is helping Miss Emma; he debates within himself whether he should stay and help Miss Emma and
The fact that Grant considers himself to be better than all of the black residents of Bayonne is one of the many things that holds Grant back from being an effective coach to assist Jefferson in his quest to become a man. Another contributing factor to his ineffective teaching is his lack of self confidence. If Jefferson does not see a worthy example of how to be a man, then he will never effectively become one himself. After a few visits to see Jefferson in his cell, persevering through his own belief that he is not making a difference, being told that he was wasting his time, he realized that he was doing much more than performing a favor for Miss Emma and Tante Lou. He realized that he wasn’t only trying to turn Jefferson into a man. This was Miss Emma and Tante Lou’s way of teaching himself a lesson on how to live his life and who he really is. “I need you,” I told him. “I need you much more than you could ever need me” (Gaines, 193). This quote represents the
In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying written by Ernest J. Gaines, the main character Grant Wiggins controls his destiny. Because he went to college to become a teacher and he makes the decision to help Jefferson and teach him life lessons, Grant also stood up for his race in community and is trying to set a positive example.
After the Civil War ended, many blacks and whites, especially in the South, continued living as if nothing had changed with regards to the oppression and poor treatment of African Americans. Narrator Grant Wiggins, of Ernest J. Gaines' A Lesson Before Dying, possesses a similar attitude toward race relations. Through his experiences with a young man wrongly accused of murder, Grant transforms from a pessimistic, hopeless, and insensitive man into a more selfless and compassionate human being who can see the possibility of change in relations between whites and blacks.
Initially it could be thought that Jefferson couldn’t be anything more than one of the African American field workers stuck in the vicious cycle of Bayonne, but his progression made him a distinguished teacher. To begin with, he refused to eat Miss Emma’s food, he stared at the wall of his holding cell, and ignored interaction with everyone. There was little hope for Jefferson as he took on the characteristics of the hog he was once called. By his own defense attorney calling Jefferson this word, it portrayed that society as a whole saw him more as an animal than human. Despite that, he emerged as a mindful man, acquainted with the layers of society, and able to be the teacher that Grant needed. By Grant looking at
In the novel A Lesson before Dying readers see a progressive change in the protagonist Grant Wiggins. His change is mostly done by the community and environment Grant lives in. This change is not a one way street Grant also has a major impact on his community not just being a teacher though but also as a son and fiance. Grants effect as an educated black man makes the Bayonne quarter very dependent on him as well as makes him dependent on the quarter. They rely on him for things that are obvious and important like teaching their children. They need him for the less obvious but equally important role of educating Jefferson which if successful would really prove something about the community to their white counterparts. Most important perhaps is that Grant needs people in the community like Emma, Vivian and especially Tante Lou who really helps Grant see how much of an impact he makes on peoples lives.
A Lesson before Dying, one of Ernest J. Gaines later works, was written in 1993. Some of his earlier works include A Gathering of Old Men and In My Father’s House. The novel covers a time period when blacks were still treated unfairly and looked down upon. Jefferson, a main character, has been wrongly accused of a crime and awaits his execution in jail. Grant, the story’s main protagonist must find it within himself to help Jefferson see that he is a man, which will allow him to walk bravely to his fate that lies in the execution chair. A Lesson before Dying captures the tale of a young teacher, who by helping another mistakenly finds his own soul. This paper explains the literary background of Gaines, facts about the novel, literary
After the civil war ended many blacks and whites especially in the south, continued living as if nothing had changed with regards to the oppressions and poor treatment of African Americans. Narrator Grant Wiggins, of the novel A Lesson Before Dying, By Ernest Gaines, finds himself in a similar situation towards racism. Through his experience Grant is forced to transform Jefferson who was wrongly accused of a murder from a “HOG” into a man. Although Grant was forced to make jefferson a man, he himself became more of one as a result. Grant transformed from an ignorant pessimistic person into a sensitive and compassionate human being.
There are, in fact, numerous lessons learnt throughout the novel A Lesson Before Dying and they are learnt by a multitude of different characters. A significant number of characters throughout the book gradually evolve whilst story unfolds with this gradient of change emphasised in Jefferson, Grant Wiggins and the deputy, Paul. The lessons substantiate themselves in the words and actions of all the characters throughout the novel; however, it is Grant who learns perhaps the most. Through his interactions with Jefferson and his direct community, Grant, even unintentionally, develops his understanding of life beyond the grasp